Spatial Variability of Chondrichthyes in the Northern Mediterranean
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Mediterranean demersal resources and ecosystems: SCIENTIA MARINA 83S1 25 years of MEDITS trawl surveys December 2019, 81-100, Barcelona (Spain) M.T. Spedicato, G. Tserpes, B. Mérigot and ISSN-L: 0214-8358 E. Massutí (eds) https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.04998.23A Spatial variability of Chondrichthyes in the northern Mediterranean Maria C. Follesa 1, Martina F. Marongiu 1, Walter Zupa 2, Andrea Bellodi 1, Alessandro Cau 1, Rita Cannas 1, Francesco Colloca 3, Mirko Djurovic 4, Igor Isajlovic 5, Angélique Jadaud 6, Chiara Manfredi 7, Antonello Mulas 1, Panagiota Peristeraki 8,9, Cristina Porcu 1, Sergio Ramirez-Amaro 10, Francisca Salmerón Jiménez 11, Fabrizio Serena 12, Letizia Sion 13, Ioannis Thasitis 14, Angelo Cau 1, Pierluigi Carbonara 2 1 Department of Life and Environmental Science, University of Cagliari, Via T. Fiorelli 1, Cagliari, Italy. (MCF) (Corresponding author). E-mail: [email protected]. ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8320-9974 (MFM) E-mail: [email protected]. ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0582-8865 (AB) E-mail: [email protected]. ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9017-1692 (AlC) E-mail: [email protected]. ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4082-7531 (RC) E-mail: [email protected]. ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6627-4053 (AM) E-mail: [email protected]. ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1635-691X (CP) E-mail: [email protected]. ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2649-6502 (AnC) E-mail: [email protected]. ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6897-2127 2 COISPA Tecnologia & Ricerca, Via dei Trulli 18-20, Bari, Italy. (WZ) E-mail: [email protected]. ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2058-8652 (PC) E-mail: [email protected]. ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2529-2535 3 Stazione Zoologica A. Dohrn, Villa comunale, Napoli, Italy. (FC) E-mail: [email protected]. ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0574-2893 4 Institute of Marine Biology, University of Montenegro, PBox 69, 85330 Kotor, Montenegro. (MD) E-mail: [email protected]. ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4352-9911 5 Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Set. I Mestrovica 63, 21000 Split, Croatia. (II) E-mail: [email protected]. ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7101-9575 6 MARBEC-IFREMER, IRD, Université Montpellier 2, CNRS, Avenue Jean Monnet, CS 30171, 34203 Sète Cedex, France. (AJ) E-mail: [email protected]. ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6858-3570 7 Laboratorio di Biologia Marina e Pesca di Fano, Università di Bologna, viale Adriatico 1/n, 61311 Fano, Italy. (CM) E-mail: [email protected]. ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2852-4856 8 Hellenic Center for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters, 71003, Heraklion, Greece. (PP) E-mail: [email protected]. ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8608-078X 9 University of Crete, Biology Department, Stavrakia, Heraklion, Crete. 10 Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Centro Oceanográfico de Baleares, Moll de Ponent s/n, 07015 Palma, Spain. (SR-A) E-mail: [email protected]. ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0298-0749 11 Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Centro Oceanográfico de Málaga, Puerto Pesquero s/n, 29640 Fuengirola, Spain. (FSJ) E-mail: [email protected] iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8907-5444 12 National Research Council, Institute for Coastal Marine Environment, Via Vaccara 61, 91026 Mazara del Vallo, TP Italy. (FS) E-mail: [email protected]. ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1428-8124 13 Department of Biology, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy. (LS) E-mail: [email protected]. ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0308-1841 14 Department of Fisheries and Marine Research, 101 Vithleem str., 1416 Nicosia, Cyprus. (IT) E-mail: [email protected]. ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0940-2212 Summary: Thanks to the availability of the MEDITS survey data, a standardized picture of the occurrence and abundance of demersal Chondrichthyes in the northern Mediterranean has been obtained. During the spring-summer period between 2012 and 2015, 41 Chondrichthyes, including 18 sharks (5 orders and 11 families), 22 batoids (3 orders and 4 families) and 1 chimaera, were detected from several geographical sub-areas (GSAs) established by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean. Batoids had a preferential distribution on the continental shelf (10-200 m depth), while shark species were more frequent on the slope (200-800 m depth). Only three species, the Carcharhiniformes Galeus melastomus and Scylio- rhinus canicula and the Torpediniformes Torpedo marmorata were caught in all GSAs studied. On the continental shelf, the Rajidae family was the most abundant, being represented in primis by Raja clavata and then by R. miraletus, R. polystigma and R. asterias. The slope was characterized by the prevalence of G. melastomus in all GSAs, followed by S. canicula, E. spinax and Squalus blainville. Areas under higher fishing pressure, such as the Adriatic Sea and the Spanish coast (with the exception of the Balearic Islands), show a low abundance of chondrichthyans, but other areas with a high level of fishing 82 • M.C. Follesa et al. pressure, such as southwestern Sicily, show a high abundance, suggesting that other environmental drivers work together with fishing pressure to shape their distribution. Results of generalized additive models highlighted that depth is one of the most important environmental drivers influencing the distribution of both batoid and shark species, although temperature also showed a significant influence on their distribution. The approach explored in this work shows the possibility of producing maps modelling the distribution of demersal chondrichthyans in the Mediterranean that are useful for the management and conservation of these species at a regional scale. However, because of the vulnerability of these species to fishing exploita- tion, fishing pressure should be further incorporated in these models in addition to these environmental drivers. Keywords: fish; Chondrichthyes; bottom trawl surveys; distribution; abundance; Mediterranean. Variabilidad espacial de Chondrichthyes en el norte del Mediterráneo Resumen: Gracias a la disponibilidad de los datos de campañas de pesca experimental MEDITS, se ha realizado una imagen estandarizada de la presencia y abundancia de Chondrichthyes demersales en el norte del Mediterráneo. Durante el período primavera-verano entre 2012 y 2015, se detectaron 41 Chondrichthyes, incluidos 18 tiburones (5 órdenes y 11 familias), 22 batoides (3 órdenes y 4 familias) y 1 quimera, de varias Subáreas Geográficas (GSA) establecidas por la Comisión General de Pesca para el Mediterráneo en la zona. Los batoides tuvieron una distribución preferencial en la plataforma continental (10-200 m de profundidad), mientras que las especies de tiburones fueron más frecuentes en la ladera (200-800 m de pro- fundidad). Solo tres especies, Carcharhiniformes Galeus melastomus, Scyliorhinus canicula y Torpediniformes Torpedo marmorata fueron capturadas en todos los GSA estudiados. En la plataforma continental, la familia Rajidae fue la más abundante, representada en primer lugar por Raja clavata y luego por R. miraletus, R. polystigma y R. asterias. La pendiente se caracterizó por la prevalencia de G. melastomus en todos los GSA, seguido de S. canicula, E. spinax y Squalus blainville. Las áreas bajo mayor presión de pesca, como el Mar Adriático y la costa española (con la excepción de las Islas Baleares), registran una baja abundancia de condricthianos, pero otras áreas con un alto nivel de presión de pesca, como el suroeste de Sicilia, presentan una gran abundancia de estas especies. Sugiere que otros impulsores ambientales trabajen juntos con la presión pesquera para dar forma a su distribución. Los resultados de los modelos aditivos generalizados resaltaron que la profundidad es uno de los factores ambientales más importantes que influyen en la distribución de las especies de batoides y tiburones, aunque la temperatura también mostró una influencia significativa en su distribución. El enfoque explorado en este trabajo muestra la posibilidad de producir mapas que modelen la distribución de los condrictios demersales en el Me- diterráneo, útiles para el manejo y la conservación de estas especies a escala regional. Sin embargo, teniendo en cuenta la vulnerabilidad de estas especies a la explotación pesquera, la presión pesquera debería incorporarse a estos modelos, además de estos factores ambientales. Palabras clave: Chondrichthyes; campañas de pesca experimental de arrastre; distribución; abundancia; mar Mediterráneo. Citation/Cómo citar este artículo: Follesa M.C., Marongiu M.F., Zupa W., Bellodi A., Cau A., Cannas R., Colloca F., Djurovic M., Isajlovic I., Jadaud A., Manfredi C., Mulas A., Peristeraki P., Porcu C., Ramirez-Amaro S., Salmerón Jiménez F., Serena F., Sion L., Thasitis I., Cau A., Carbonara P. 2019. Spatial variability of Chondrichthyes in the northern Mediter- ranean. Sci. Mar. 83S1: 81-100. https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.04998.23A Editor: E. Massutí. Received: March 15, 2018. Accepted: September 12, 2019. Published: November 15. 2019. Copyright: © 2019 CSIC. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License. INTRODUCTION rakers (Fowler et al. 2002, Clarke et al. 2006, Lack and Sant 2009). The landings of sharks and rays reported to Chondrichthyes are one of the oldest and most the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United ecologically diverse vertebrate lineages. They ap- Nations increased to a peak in 2003 and declined by peared about 420 million years ago occupying the 20% afterwards (FAO 2010, Frodella et al. 2016). upper levels of aquatic food webs (Compagno 1990, However, recent global data show an increase of 42% Kriwet et al. 2008). Today, they have a conspicuous of the trade in shark meat (Dent and Clarke 2015) and number of predators playing an important role within the true total catch is considered to be about 3/4 times the marine ecosystem (Stevens et al.